Indiana State Digital Archives

Baffled by too many Records?

Indiana Electronic Records Program

Welcome to the Indiana Archives and Records Administration

The Indiana Archives and Records Administration assists State and local governments in the cost-effective, efficient and secure management of governmental records, by providing services throughout the life cycle of records, including creation, use, storage, and disposition.

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The Indiana State Archives collects, preserves, and makes available for public use historical and evidential materials relating to Indiana. In all, the Archives houses over 110,000 cubic feet of permanently valuable materials containing millions of individual items. These records date from the territorial period to the present.

Preservation, Cleaning and Mending Workshop

The Preservation, Cleaning and Mending Workshop is a hands-on experience in which participants will learn to dry-clean and mend dirty, torn documents without using tape.

Preservation methods will be included throughout the workshop and participants will learn the reasons for using specific supplies and techniques. Each participant will receive a tool-kit to take with them as well as a list of resources from which to purchase archival supplies. There will be an optional tour of the Archives facilities afterwards.

The 2 1/2 hour workshop is limited to 12 seats so spots will fill up quickly! There is no cost to attend the workshop and registration is first come, first serve.

Indiana's World War I Centennial

The Indiana Archives and Records Administration is proud to partner with the Indiana World War I Centennial Committee to commemorate the centennial of World War I in the state of Indiana.

Over the coming years, the Committee will serve as the lead organizer for the state's commemorative events and will coordinate the activities of individuals and institutions to raise awareness of and give meaning to the events of a hundred years ago.

You are encouraged and invited to participate whether as an individual, an organization, municipal or educational group.

Treasures at the Indiana State Archives

1917 Fort Benjamin Harrison Postcard

This postcard shows soldiers performing field maneuvers at Fort Benjamin Harrison in 1917.

Thanks to the State Archives of Florida, the Indiana State Archives can add some Indiana postcards to our collection. While doing an assessment of their holdings, the State Archives of Florida discovered records that did not fit their collection policy. They identified institutions that would get better use of the items, and donated them to the appropriate place.

The postcards, part of the Harold and Geraldine Haskins Postcard Collection, depict a wide range of Indiana life. One postcard shows soldiers performing field maneuvers at Fort Benjamin Harrison in 1917. Other Indiana landmarks and buildings featured include Union Station in Indianapolis, the Methodist Episcopal Hospital in Indianapolis, Abraham Lincoln’s Home, and the Wyandotte Cave.

Archives use collection policies, also referred to as accession policies, to ensure that consistent decisions are made when forming the archives’ collection. Having a strong collection policy allows the archives to identify a clear mission and to focus resources on those records that will best serve the constituents.

Here at the Indiana State Archives, our collection policy is to preserve and make accessible records of state and local governments that document public and private rights, actions of state and local government officials, and the institutional character of state and local governments. Exceptions are made for records that have permanent legal and research significance, or document the history of the state. In this case, the postcards, while not created by a government unit, document key Indiana landmarks and scenes.